Alstott announces retirement

Friday

Jan 25, 2008 at 1:33 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' fullback ends his 12 years in the NFL during a tearful press conference.

By TOM BALOG

TAMPA -- It was not any of his bone-rattling, tackle-breaking, crowd-electrifying runs, any of his 71 touchdowns, any of the four division championships, or the dozens of victories or even the Super Bowl title that caused Mike Alstott to nearly break down repeatedly Thursday.

It was the people he worked with that moved Alstott, many of whom dropped by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice facility to witness the most popular player in team history say goodbye.

On the day the former six-time Pro Bowl fullback announced his retirement from the Buccaneers as well as the NFL, he was almost driven to tears recalling the personal relationships he built and the friendships he made during his 12-year career, and what they will continue to mean to him.

Alstott got choked up at the podium of a theater-style team meeting room while recalling the locker-room camaraderie he will leave behind.

"Plays? Everybody makes plays," Alstott said. "Coming into that (post-game) locker room and being able to give your teammates, your peers, hugs, congratulations, smiles. To be able to share those times ... those are special moments.

"Today is definitely a day of mixed emotions. I'm very sad to be walking away from the game I love. But at the same time, I'm excited, I'm blessed that it has taken me this far."

Alstott said the neck problem he developed during training camp and prompted the team to put him on injured reserve forced his decision to retire. He said he knew it back in August.

"We checked to see if it would be possible. But overall, for me and my family, it's not possible," Alstott said. "The hardest thing is to stand up front here and say you can't play. Though mentally I feel I can continue, physically, I can't. I wanted to say thank you and close this chapter of my life. I hope I did that."

He said he didn't retire after last season because, "I knew in my mind that I could play. Unfortunately, going through camp, my neck didn't allow me," Alstott said.

He had surgery in 2003 to repair a herniated disc, which he said was unrelated to his second neck problem. Since an in-game collision with teammate Joe Jurevicius against Carolina in 2003, Alstott was not the same player he had been.

He came to realize that at age 34, his career was not going to get back to where it was.

"The second injury to my neck will prevent me from playing football forever," Alstott said.

Alstott turned his farewell press conference into his personal tribute to teammates past and present, ownership, management and coaches.

"Coaches are key, but the unity and camaraderie of players are what make the memories," Alstott said, mostly reading from a prepared speech. "I can truly take something from each and every guy I played with. We came together and changed the view of this organization and the way people perceived the Buccaneers. The relationships with these guys are something special that can never be taken away from me."

Alstott had to pause to gather himself as the reality of the words he was about to say hit him like a linebacker square up in the hole.

"Even though I will not be able to be in the locker room or on that gridiron with these guys again," Alstott said, "our families will remain close. Our relationships will remain strong.

"Although I will never experience the feeling of running out of the tunnel and hearing the roar of the crowd and the train horn," Alstott said. "The memories you (fans) have given me will be forever."

He said his appreciation for the fan support is "truly inexpressible. I'm overwhelmed every day."

He also broke down when mentioning his children, who "see me as daddy, not a professional football player. Nothing is better than getting home to them and having their hugs and kisses allow me to forget all the day's stresses associated with football."

He remembered Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer and his sons, Joel and Bryan, the team's executive vice presidents, visiting him in the locker room after he sustained a knee injury.

"To check on me and my family and to make sure everything was all right," Alstott said. "It's the little things like that, that make us players want to play for such a first-class organization."

He mentioned former Bucs coach Tony Dungy.

"I was honored to be coached by a man who not only gave us football wisdom, but also taught us great life lessons," Alstott said. "I continue to look up to him to this day."

Bryan Glazer, executive vice president of the Bucs, said that Alstott's 31-yard touchdown run that sealed the team's first playoff victory over the Detroit Lions in 1997, the NFC wild-card win in the last game the Buccaneers would play at old Tampa Stadium, was one of his favorite Alstott runs.

"It signified the beginning of a rebirth of this franchise," Glazer said. "A moment that I will never forget at the old Sombrero."

Glazer's other favorite was Alstott's 2-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XXXVII, the first Super Bowl touchdown in Tampa Bay history.

"That whole situation was a blur, but it was a great blur," Alstott said. "How emotionally charged you are, the adrenaline. Sometimes you have to sit back and go, 'Man, what just took place?'"